What Does Ovulation Mean

Many couples seeking to become pregnant have been advised that a woman is most fertile in the five days preceding her ovulation. That generally leads to the question, "what is ovulation?"

Ovulation is when an egg is released by an ovary and makes its way down the fallopian tube and into the uterus. The egg will live in the uterus for about 12-24 hours before it disintegrates into the uterine lining. A couple of weeks following this, a woman will have her menstrual cycle in which the uterine lining is flushed out of the body.

Women are generally most fertile in the five days that precede ovulation. This is because sperm can live for several days and await the arrival of the egg in the uterus. The peak of fertility starts the five days before ovulation and lasts until about a day following ovulation.

There are some pretty scientific means of determining when a woman is ovulating. For example, a basal thermometer can track a woman's body temperature and determine when she is ovulating (body temperature rises during ovulation). A more simple way to estimate when a woman is ovulating is to count from the day her last period began. Most women ovulate 11-21 days following the date their last period began. For example, if Kelly started her period on June 1st, she would ovulate at some point between June 11th to June 21st.

The ovulation date determines when a woman gets her next period. The menstrual cycle begins 12-16 days following the date of ovulation. So if Kelly gets her next period on June 30th, it means she ovulated sometime between June 14th to 18th. By tracking the dates when a woman's period begins, you can get a pretty good estimation on when she ovulates. Each woman's cycle is different. Most cycles last 28-32 days, but it is not uncommon for a cycle to be longer or shorter than this.

To attempt pregnancy, try to have intercourse at least every other day in the five days that precede the estimated date of ovulation. If Kelly and her partner estimated that she is likely to ovulate sometime between June 14th and June 18th, in order to become pregnant, they should have sex at least every other day from about June 10th to June 19th.